In between the money stacks and mobsters, Minaj sports a “Bussin” necklace towards the end of the video – hinting at the new song that would follow. With promises of more upcoming work, all we can do now is look out for any other Easter eggs alluding to the artist’s much-anticipated future releases.
Both songs are available to stream now. Check out the video for “Do We Have a Problem” below.
Your new album AMERIKA’S NEXT TOP PARTY! drops 10/17. What do you want people to walk away from the album with?
Jadagrace — It’s our real introduction as a duo. The EP was a preview, but this album is a concise representation of the past couple of years, showing off our sound, our world, and everything we’ve been experimenting with.
SWIM — It’s definitely our most vulnerable project. A blueprint for young Black artists figuring out success for the first time, it’s really about the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
You’ve already released a few visuals and they’re really strong. On the album cover, there’s a two-headed dog staring us down. What’s the story there? Is it a metaphor or just chaos?
SWIM — It’s a little bit of both. We were looking for something that could represent who we are without saying too much, and the two-headed dog was perfect. There’s also some symbolism referencing the two-party system in America, and the way we dress is heavily inspired by the Black Panther Party. The two-headed dog represents that we work so well together, but we’re also extremely different. We move as one at the end of the day.
You’ve been friends for over 15 years. How does that history bleed into the music? Can you recall an early moment in your friendship that hinted at the creative bond you’d later build?
SWIM — We’ve been to funerals, baby showers, weddings—we’ve seen it all together. This isn’t like some American Idol thing where we were thrown together. This was genuine friendship, and our friendship is the most important thing to us outside of the music. People always comment on how I can tell by the look on Jada’s face whether she likes a certain sound or idea. There are so many times where Jada will come out of the booth, or I’ll come out of the booth, and we’re like, you can do better than that. It’s that brutal honesty and respect we have for each other that makes it so special.
Jadagrace — And on top of that, even when we were kids, we were always trying to create something together. We didn’t realize that would eventually turn into a job. Creating is just part of our relationship, so when we turned into a duo, we wanted to show off our dynamic, personalities, and relationship.
What kind of advice do you have for people creating with their friends who want to turn that into something a bit more serious without putting stress on the friendship?
Jadagrace — I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
SWIM — No, I definitely wouldn’t. Only because what we have is really rare, and it’s something we have to keep working at constantly. There has to be mutual respect and a mutual understanding of what the goal is.
Jadagrace — You can’t just be doing it for yourself.
“FRIENDLY FIRE” is basically a diss track aimed at each other. What was it like to trade blows? How do you draw the line between art and real life when writing something that sharp?
Jadagrace — It was really fun. In the writing process for that track, we both sat down and told each other things we wouldn’t want people to say if they were dissing us. We gave each other the ammo, so we weren’t surprised by anything that was said. We had so many different verses that were very scathing, but the goal was to make a really good song that people wanted to listen to and run back.
The songs are instant party anthems, but there’s also this headphone intimacy; they’re the type of music for a long drive. How do you balance transparency and vulnerability with fun? Is being that open ever terrifying?
SWIM — The scariest part was the EP, All For the Best, because we had gone through something so publicly, and even people on our team were like, maybe we shouldn’t be this honest. It was cathartic for us, though. It felt risky, but then releasing it and seeing people’s reactions, saying they went through the same thing or that a song changed their life, was all the confirmation we needed. After that, it became easier to be vulnerable because we realized that’s how we connect with our fans most. It’s the human experience, that duality of like, I’m in the club, but I’m actually in the club because I’m avoiding all my problems, you know?
Do you have any advice for someone who’s in the club sad?
Jadagrace — Don’t run away from it.
SWIM — It’s okay to be in the club sad. Just know that you’re in the club sad.
What do you do if you’re feeling down?
SWIM — Watch Love Island or some brainless TV.
Jadagrace — Frank Ocean really takes me there.
Sorry to talk about your sad habits, but what’s your dream party and who would be playing? How does it end? Who’s there? Where would it be if you had to put something together?
Jadagrace — Kaytranada is DJing.
SWIM — It takes place somewhere like a rooftop in Paris, with all my friends and family.
Jadagrace — No strangers.
SWIM — Open bar.
Jadagrace — Soul food.
SWIM — The sun is setting, it’s very beautiful. And how would it end? It doesn’t. It just goes on forever. And there are games, a little Uno or Monopoly in the club.
Jadagrace — We’re actually throwing a party tomorrow in New York to celebrate the album coming out.
SWIM — We won’t be sad in the club tomorrow.
You should tell your guests to bring Uno. Walk me through the studio. What did the daily rhythm of making this record look like?
SWIM — A lot of sleep and eating well before we start, just to really fuel ourselves.
Jadagrace — We like a lot of silence and personal space. Some people work well when their friends are in the studio, but we like to be in there with only our engineer so we can talk and have honest conversations.
SWIM — A lot of times, we just follow the energy and never allow ourselves to get stuck. We move around or switch things up to keep the energy alive.
Your tour stretches from DC to Texas to California. Does being on the road spark anything new for you?
SWIM — I love being on the road, especially after working on a project, because you get to see the music you spent months making come to life. You also get to see how it affects people, and that’s so fulfilling. A lot of music gets made on tour because so many ideas come from interacting with the crowd.
Any pit stops, diners, or windows-down moments you’re chasing?
Jadagrace — We have a plan to go to Disneyland Paris, and we’re so excited. I love Ratatouille, it’s my favorite movie in the world. For the tour, we have some restaurants we need to hit. We always hit snooze for breakfast.
SWIM — And CC’s Pizza, which isn’t the best, but it’s very nostalgic for me.
Jadagrace — Dallas has my favorite sushi restaurant.
SWIM — We’ve got some spots. We’re big foodies, so everything is food-based.
You’re hitting Camp Flog Gnaw in November. How does the energy differ when you’re on a massive festival stage versus an intimate venue?
Jadagrace — We don’t get scared of bigger crowds, but we do get more ambitious as far as the show. We’re doing dancers this time, which we’ve never done before. Playing Flog Gnaw has been a huge goal of ours since we were kids, and we’ve been praying on that set. When it came in, we were like, oh my god, we have to burn it down. I don’t care if there’s one person there, we treat it like it’s a stadium.
SWIM — Yeah, we’re so grateful. Last night we were studying Doechii’s set at Flog Gnaw, just taking notes.
9MICE — I’m not gonna lie, with this project, I really did try to escape all my fears of being cringe, so I have so many fucking genres. Like, a few years ago, I’d say, “Oh my god, this guy is just trying everything.” But now, I feel like the more genres you feel comfortable in, the better.
OFFICE — It’s not a rap album?
It’s my very first album where I don’t really have a genre. I have so much personal stuff on the album. I have an ambient song with my mom speaking over it — this whole monologue about how death is not the end, and you don’t need to expect death because you live in the present. There’s a song that’s just me and an acoustic guitar. Years ago, I was so afraid of dropping this type of music.
And you don’t have anything like that that’s out right now, do you?
No, I don’t have any music like that on any platforms.
It sounds like there haven’t even been any leaks or teasers or anything, so this is going to be a total shock to your fans.
I think so. I didn’t say a word about this project, not even to my friends. So, talking about this project is very exciting for me, because this is one of the first times I’m letting everyone meet the new me without teasing it. They’ll have their own space to explore it.
Wait, are we the ones breaking the news that you’re dropping an album?
I think so!
Oh shit.
It’s so funny — the last time we did an interview, the Office website was down for like, six hours. All my fans were like, “Yo, we want to read this shit, when are they fixing it?” My fans are super crazy. When they see something out, the whole army is there — they need it. I really love them. I’m so thankful for them being so accepting. But at the same time, you can’t rely on the feeling that your fans are going to love everything you share, because that means this race is endless, and you’re just racing yourself. So I’m just excited to drop this project. Maybe some fans are waiting for this project to be a super toxic, high-energy album. I have a few songs like that, but this time, I want to open up the boundaries. I’ve been growing up — I want my fans to grow up with me, too.
Compared to other artists, you’re pretty early in your career to be like, “Oh, you guys love all this stuff about me, here’s a totally different thing.”
I feel you. But if you’re not surprising your fans, you’re not really an artist. You’re just a sample maker, just staying within the boundaries and not being new or ready to change. Maybe I’m super wrong, but look at Madonna. She’s such a great artist because she’s a chameleon. Every time she has a new era, she's changing her whole thing. Her vision, the way she moves, the body language. You have to change something every time you come out.
How long has this album been in the works?
I started working on it a year and a half ago. I had the album ready last year, but then something happened to my computer — I spilled some fucking Sprite on it and had to remake the whole project. And it turned into a whole new thing with all new music, because I was working on it when I was in New York, and New York is kind of dark. I don’t really like New York. Do you like New York?
I do. But I’m comparing it to Ohio, which is where I’m from.
No way [laughs] Never had a chance to visit — hopefully one day with the US tour. I feel like this is the last project that’ll be more Russian than English. I love when people from the whole world can really show love and resonate with my music.I have a show in Moscow on November 4th, and I'm bringing my friends from all over the world. They know I do music, but they don’t realize how big this stuff is.
Weren’t you just on tour a few months ago? And you’re touring again next month?
Nowadays, you really have to push your stuff. There’s too much information — TikTok, Reels, all these types of social media. People come and go. Artists also come and go. Aesthetics come and go. You just have to really push your stuff.
I’ve only had two or three months of rest, and now I have to do this stuff again. But I'm very excited. This is the only thing I’ve been really, really excited about, at least since the last tour. When you see the people, when you see your fans, they’re really like a family — like a cult. They’re just there for you, and you’re there for them. Energy’s intense. And it’s very, very beautiful.
It's your cult and your family at the same time?
When we talk to them, it’s super close, like family. It’s just super warm and lovely, but they still treat it like a cult. My shows are crazy. We have this whole crew of support. They bring these big ass flags with our symbols. When we tour, they rent a bus and travel with us — like, 10 to 30 people traveling on their own with us.
That’s awesome. That’s like, sixties-seventies rock and roll era groupie tradition, so it’s nice to know that that’s still going.
Hell yeah. Would've bene so cool to live in that period of time. The 70s and 80s were pure. People treated music differently.
When I perform, I look people in their eyes and feel this huge amount of energy. It gives life to everything I do.
To be in a room and have people like all focused on you and singing your words back to you — psychically, that’s got to do something.
It really does. And I have some rituals or pre-show routines where I’m lowkey creating a barrier to keep people from taking all of my energy. I’ve been talking to some spiritual people and huge artists who do stadium tours — many of them have spiritual mentors or whatever, and they just do a lot of work to prepare to face a huge amount of energy.
I don’t know if you know anyone who practices witchcraft, but any time you do anything, they tell you to set a boundary or do something to protect yourself, so that the only stuff that comes in is stuff you invite.
Some people will say this is witchcraft, some people will say this is religion. Some people will say it’s just something to protect the soul. But you not only have to think about your physical and mental health, you also need to think about the energy — how much you put out and how much you get, because you should be in a balance, otherwise you’ll go crazy or people just won’t like the show.
I’m just curious, but I saw this clip of you onstage checking your phone mid-song. What was that about?
[Laughs] Some of my friends were talking to me before the show, asking how it was going, so I just took my phone and was like, “Yo, I’m onstage right now, you wanna see?”
It was really funny. All the comments were joking like, “His mom was texting him to pull his pants up,” or something.
That’s so funny. I remember that video, actually. I had a pink iPhone.
Do you go through and lurk on what people are posting about you?
No, my mom and dad used to be really far from my music. But when they realized something was really going on, they started to explore more, and they found out about TikTok, and after they looked me up once, the algorithm kept showing them videos of me. My dad is my super close friend and he’s super tapped in. He sends me a lot of videos and reviews them. He’s very supportive and kind.
Your mom’s already on the album. Have him hop on a track.
He’s on one song, actually. He used to play guitar a lot when I was a kid. He’s just like, a Slavic person who plays acoustic guitar. Maybe I’ll have him perform at my show in Moscow in November.
I really did collect different types of moods that I want to put out, and I feel like this is the way. With this project, I didn’t really do any promo. I did a few snippets just to share what was going on in my life, but I’m not really trying to promote anything this time.
This album is about to be crazy — not in the way of being wild and iconic. I feel like it’s gonna be iconic because I don’t really care.
It’s a little experiment.
Yeah. I really like experimenting. I feel like if you’re experimenting, then you’re gonna have mood swings, your ups and downs. The rollercoasters of emotions are really cool.
When I was younger, I did a lot of therapy, and I learned that the goal isn’t to get rid of the negative emotions, because there are no such things as negative emotions. There’s just emotions you might not like having as much as the other ones.
That’s so fucking right. I really agree.
After I drop this project, I want to go offline. I want to get rid of my phone for at least one week. It’s going to be so lonely. But I just really want to have this experience. I feel like something is definitely going to change in my brain.
[On the topic of going offline, I freeze for a minute and apologize, explaining I’m close to the woods.]
That sounds so beautiful. You know that trendy song on TikTok? “I want your things in my room…” It’s giving Bella [Swan]. When I imagine the woods, I have that song in my head.
I love that song. You should do some stuff with Julia Wolf.
I love that song. I'm so in love with the Twilight aesthetic. My album has some sounds like that. I found this kid from the middle of Russia. He’s such a talented person, he’s so sweet and he’s actually a crazy workaholic. I’d send him like three or four references just to share, not really expecting him to send me anything back, but he’d send me three or four demos the next morning. It’s crazy. And he’s like, 15, 16, or 17. Super young and super talented. We need more people like that.
Sam Slocum (vocals) and Skyler Knapp (guitar) grew up making music together in the Detroit, MI suburbs. The pair met Nico Brunstein (bass) in New York eight years ago and as the most recent addition, Gigi Giobbi (drums) completes Been Stellar. In late August, the four returned home from a European tour. Since then they’ve been in the band’s Bushwick studio writing a new album.
This summer was littered with singles following the 2024 release of Scream From New York, NY (via Dirty Hit). A post-punk, shoegazey album, it acted as an asseveration of how life felt in New York to Been Stellar. Balancing solemnity and hope with youthful excitement, the work’s voice was that of someone who feels deeply but refuses melodrama. Its contained emotion provokes a more natural ache than any feral outburst would - maybe because that dance between stoicism and susceptibility feels like the truth. Now that Been Stellar has sincerely turned over and rendered their home context, they’ve begun writing on a wider scope not only thematically, but also sonically.
Endless days down in the studio coupled with years on the road - including touring with Fontaines D.C. and opening for The 1975, Beabadoobee, Shame, and Interpol - have bonded the band. The ability to work alongside each other has made their long-term friendships even more unflinching. Like their music, together they hold a soft, but impenetrable countenance. It made me trust them to say what life sounds like now.
Somewhere between where they’ve been and where they’re going - office talked to Been Stellar about process, friendship, and what's coming.
Alice Mercy— How did Been Stellar form?
Skyler Knapp— Sam and I were making music together in high school, we made an album when we were seniors. Then we both got into NYU, so we came to New York and wanted to re-assemble a band. I signed us up for an NYU Facebook group. Someone was doing a DIY show and they were looking for people to play. I said “yeah my band will play,” but we didn’t have a band - it was just me and Sam. We needed a bassist, we needed drums. Nico just said “I have a bass,” not “I’m a bassist,” but that was good enough for us. After our record came out last year, two people left. We got back from the Fontaines D.C. tour and had a month before our first headline tour in Europe, so our goal was to find a drummer. I put up a Craigslist ad and didn’t get many bites. The bites I did get were wild - mostly 40 year-olds. By the grace of god right before leaving for tour, we found Gigi.
Gigi Giobbi— Because drummers are so hard to find, they can't usually commit to one project. I was on millions of sidequests. It was perfect timing, they were starting to be desperate for a drummer and I was craving actually being part of a band - a process.
SK— That’s what we needed - somebody who’s creative and talented, and also just cool - in the sense of… a good person. In a band, you’re only doing music for a small fraction of the time you’re spending together. The rest of the time you’re coexisting in a van or a hotel room, so meeting somebody you spiritually connect with is important. It felt like divine intervention to me.
AM— Where do you write music?
SK— Our friends were in a band called The Britanys. Sam and I really looked up to them when we moved to New York. To be a band and all share an apartment, have the studio there… it felt like the dream. Anyway, [The Britanys] gave it to us after they broke up. So we have an apartment in Bushwick. In the basement there’s a live room where we do all the writing, and a little control room where we’re able to record. That’s where we wrote all of the last album, that’s where we’re writing this album. We are going about it a little differently this time. We’re not writing everything down there because it’s a really dingy basement, it’s always hot down there.
GG— No windows…
Sam Slocum— No windows.
SK— We’ve been doing writing retreats. We did one in Belgium when we were there on tour. We did one in LA. We’ll rent out an Airbnb, bring all of our equipment, and use it as a studio.
AM— What does collaboration look like for you?
Nico Brunstein— Usually it starts with an idea one of us has and we’ll build off that. It’s nice having Gigi because before, Sam would be on the drums… or he wouldn’t be - it was fragmented. We were just working on the idea of a song that would never be finished until we had our drummer in town. Now, we’re finishing songs in real time.
SK— Sometimes someone brings in a fully written song and we don’t need to do much to it. Other times you’ll have what you think is something, but by playing it with other people, the end product doesn’t sound anything like the original riff. It’s interesting because that’s when there’s no one person who wrote the song and you can’t tell what it is that made the song. That’s what kind of feels like magic to me.
AM— Is it hard to share a framework with three other people? Do you feel truly fed?
SK— I rely on the band to make an idea into something that’s Been Stellar. I always leave space, some preciousness, to be filled in by other people. It’s extremely hard because if you have something you’re proud of, you don’t want anyone to touch it. But you have to trust in the people you’re working with, that they’ll take it seriously, that they’re trying to make it better. It’s tough. It’s more mental than musical. You’re trying to put your ego aside at all times - that’s a muscle we’ve been training. The hardest part of our creative relationship over the past eight years has been getting to a point where we have that trust. It used to be frustrating. We’d be working on a song and someone would storm out of the room, that would happen all the time - which I understand… usually that someone is me or Sam.
SS— I just remember doing laps around the block wondering “did we lose it... can we still write music?”
GG— This is my first time being in a real band and writing songs. Which is crazy because I’ve been touring for three years. Before, I was playing someone else’s music. I play guitar and I have musical ideas, but I’m not nearly good enough - -
SK— - you wrote one of the best songs on the new album…
GG— I wrote the riff for it - but that’s the thing, I had this riff I liked, but if I didn't have three other creative outlets to kind of (laughs) shoot the shit with, then I’d just be eternally frustrated. I’d have this great thing that would sit there and slowly die.
AM— So making an album is more retroactive regarding the curatorial aspect of it?
SK— Yea totally, it’s super retroactive. You’re vomiting out ideas for a period of time and then rearranging them into something. What kind of always blows my mind is that it starts to do its own thing. You don’t really need to try, the album tells you what it wants to be - so you start listening to it instead of forcing it.
AM— I find it interesting that performing becomes an inherent part of music when you have a successful band. Do you resonate with performing as much as you do making music?
SS— It changes over time. When we started, we were so focused on playing live. When you’re playing in a scene, especially a college scene, that’s all it is really - performance. It wasn’t until Covid that we stopped focusing on the performance and started focusing on the composition. The songs got a lot better, naturally. I’m not playing an instrument for the majority of the show, so a lot of it is just a performance - how I’m presenting to a crowd of people. I’ve had my own journey with it - being confused about my place within that, what kind of performer I want to be, wanting to be authentic but also still wanting to push [myself], not being phony about it but also not being boring while [I’m] performing. It’s a really weird thing.
SK— I think they inform each other. It can also be a bad thing when you’re writing songs and get really (laughs) lost in the sauce. Being a band that’s making pop songs, which is ideally what we're trying to do in a way, make really good pop songs - it’s meant to be consumed live in front of people. In writing songs, you should always have performing in mind, how it will translate live, and then making that unique - but you also don’t want to just be a band that’s making party songs for people.
AM— How have you grown since making Scream From New York, NY?
SK— I still have the thing where you do something good and there’s a constant fear that you will never be able to do anything good again. I have it all the time and it’s terrifying. Because, you know, that does happen to people. The way we’ve been avoiding this so far is the volume of stuff we’re doing. We’re writing a song every single day.
SS— We went in to record the first record with 12 songs and we knew it was going to be a ten song album. Twelve songs kind of checked the box, but we 100% knew which two weren’t good enough. This time we’re going in with 20, 25 songs.
SK— Our first record was our New York record, it’s an album about New York. It was the best of this one thing we’re able to do - but we all had this itch to wonder what else it could be. Having new people like Gigi come on board opened up pockets of music that we wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise. This next record, we don’t want to be super tied to New York, it’s more of an America record.
AM— America record?
SK— It’s more about time than place. I’ll say that. It’s current time, extending past us writing songs together in New York - it makes sense to write in different places. I think we’ll record it before the end of the year, it will come out next year. It’s gonna be the best Been Stellar record. I mean that.
NB— Yeah, it’s all downhill after that.
SK— It’s definitely gonna be the best Been Stellar record so far. I’m really, really excited about it.
